Limitless - Kali Geiger, Daniel Zengotita

Acrylic on Canvas
18" x 24"
 
Limitless: Children and the Politics of Wonder - By Daniel Zengotita 
Gazing up at the blue sky, the horizon goes on and on 
No matter where you turn, the horizon unfolds over head 
Whether in sunshine or under cloudy skies, or 
Under twinkling stars and an irradiating moon, 
a yawning horizon calls us to wonder 
A child looks up, turning in every which way 
No matter the direction, the sky stretches across 
Reaching out, the child grasps at the sky’s horizon 
The adult laughs, “you can’t reach it” 
Bewildered, the child asks, “Why?” 
“Because,” the adult retorts, “you can’t reach” 
Turning back to the sky, 
the child continues to reach, 
Reaching for the limitless 
As a limited being 
Is the very definition 
Of curiosity and wonder 
Children are born with boundless wonder 
Yet, Adult actions and attitudes say otherwise 
Caustic laughter and repressive limits 
Kill the experience of curiosity and wonder 
Because 
To wonder is to create endlessly 
And in creation, children transcend 
Socially-constructed limits 
Enchaining adults, 
Fomenting resentment and apathy 
Horizons are limitless 
So are children 
 
Limits constrain. Oftentimes, however, limits are relied on to avoid risk and go beyond mere restraints. Sometimes, more than we would like to admit, limits bind us to a given position, identity, or perspective. Whether out of fear, concern, or blindness, limits come to constrain our experience of the unknown. To embrace the unforeseen, the unimaginable, and the unpredictable is part of what makes human beings resilient. Yet, all around us, children are spoken for, relegated to the background because their supposed naivety disqualifies them from speaking, from communicating the wondrous experience of experiencing the world for the first time. As adults, we have forgotten what it means to enjoy boredom, to take pleasure in the unexpected, and to realize that risk averse calculations are useful, but not particularly useful for living a meaningful life. A meaningful life is a life open to wonder. 
By gazing up at the sky, we become children once more. The horizon before us is ever-expanding whether we wish to admit it. A return to our wondrous, curious selves is a return to what makes us distinctly human. To embrace wonder is to embrace an openness to life, an openness to belonging to a world outside of socially-demanding hierarchies and identities. A world where our limits are merely a springboard for us to jump into the impossible. Become a child once more.